Wednesday, 16 August 2017

Wagernumb - NLC - Build notes

These are my build notes for the Wagernumb.
It's a Nonlinearcircuits module in Eurorack format.
Looks to be quite versatile. Andrew's build notes describe it as 3 or 4 modules in one:
+ Frequency Tracker
+ Frequency / Clock divider - down to 1/4096
+ VCO
+ Random or Burst generator.

Basically it's a 1-16 decoder with sync and async modes. Just feed it 4 signals and get all sorts of complex gate patterns from it. Runs at audio rates too so can be used as a sub-octave generator.  

I also like using it to trigger my ARP 2500's envelope generator.
Like the Numberwang, it outputs lots of complex gate patterns. The gates are around the 7V level.
My ARP 2600 also happens to trigger at this level... though 10V is recommended.
To get 10V gates, use a TTSH gate booster. 



Links
 +The NLC build notes are here:
   http://www.sdiy.org/pinky/data/wangernumb_build&BOM.pdf 
+ NLC blog

I'm guessing that the name for this module comes from the fictional television series in which the two contestants call out seemingly random numbers which are occasionally told to be Numberwang.

..

At the moment, this panel is a mystery to me.
It's not base-2, decimal or any other number system I can decipher.

The virgin PCB.

Some NLC words of wisdom:  Frilve hundred and neeb .
509???


Get those ICs and trannies on first. then the rest of those passive SMDs
I don't have a CD4046... on back order. It's a  PLL or phase locked loop CMOS chip.
I ordered the wrong size chip -- a TSSOP-16 . This is way too small.

Get one in the SOP-16 format

I'm using a Silonex NSL-32 vactrol. They are cheap as chips. The white dot marks the cathode of the LED part of the vactrol. Andrew has labeled this as "K" on the PCB.

The 4046 arrived.
Mouser: 595-CD4046BNSRE4


Pots - two B100K

There are 17 jacks.

Positioning the LEDs


Using the module:


There are 4 inputs on the left of the module.
The group of 12 outputs produce gates.
The VCO output is for audio & CVs

As a CV Tracker / CV divider:
Use the Track input at the very top.
The phase lock loop acts as a frequency tracker. The VCO Range CV input and filter pot will determine how well it will track. You also get 12 divisions of the tracking signal, right down to divide by 4096. 








Clock Divider
If you use the Divide input, you have a 12 stage clock divider, down to 1/4096. In this case,you can use the PLL tracker section as a separate and independent VCO module and get it to generate squelchy, glitchy noises or as a tracker again.
There are 12 gate outputs. This is where the divided clock exits.
1=        /2
8-4 =   /4 
21.3 = /8
.01 =  /16
41 =   /32
93 =   /64
12 =   /128
70 =   /256
26 =   /512
2   =   /1024
-3 =   /2048
+-6 = /4096

 
Random CV or Burst generator.
If you use the Roulette input, it will generate semi-random selections of outputs when the input signal is high....or, depending upon how you drive it and look at the results, it is a burst generator and you can control the frequency of the bursts with the VCO CV input.
 
VCO
Use the VCO output at the top of the module.
Running it at audio rates turns it into a sub-octave generator.
You won't hear anything from the VCO out until some CVs or audio is inputted into the 
track or roulette inputs. The gate outputs will also fire.
You can control the frequency of the VCO with the VCO range CV input
 

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Click here to return to the NLC Build Index:
http://djjondent.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/non-linear-circuits-ncl-index.html  

 

Tuesday, 15 August 2017

Feague - NLC - Build notes

These are my build notes for the Nonlinearcircuits Feague module.

Feague is defined as:
"To decorate or improve in appearance through artificial means.. To increase the liveliness of a horse by inserting an irritant, such as a piece of peeled raw ginger or a live eel...."
 
This module is a 4 pole filter and Quadrature oscillator in Eurorack format.
It has 4 outputs, each 90°phase shifted, two CV inputs, a signal input, sync input and a hi/lo range switch.

It looks very similar to a module Andrew built into his Serge format Drum Panel.
Andrew described this as:
Quadrature Oscillator (QUO) / Low Pass Filter (LPF) with chaotic feedback.
It can be switched to perform as a very low freq QUO, quadrature VCO, LPF with Q and a pot
allows non-linear resonant feedback to obtain richer and irregular harmonics.

Below is a panel and bare PCB for the Eurorack version.
Andrew's build notes are here:
http://www.sdiy.org/pinky/data/FEAGUEbuild&BOM.pdf

A Quadrature oscillator is a phase shift oscillator.
 It uses an op amp integrator to obtain a full 90° phase shift.

 Here is a simplified circuit to demonstrate the principle.

 In this video Andrew is demonstrating two Feagues. The one on the left is used as a VCF and the right as a oscillator (QUO). QUO mode is obtained by cranking the Q pot up to 9-10

Back to the build. The virgin PCB:

Get those ICs on first.
We have three TL074 (Op-amp), two LM3700 (op-amp) and a DG411
The DG411 is a multiplexer
Trannies on next:

Some NLC words of wisdom:
Monday Morning Gunk.


The BOM requires:
a S1JL rectifier
Mouser No: 821-S1JL.
There is a long waiting list for this.
A replacement is  Mouser Part No: 583-FM4005-T.
The rectifier is polarized. The cathode end is marked with a band. 


This replacement is slightly too big for the PCB. so i had to solder it on its side.


Rest of the Thruhole and passives.



Resistor RL - for LEDs. I'm using 470R.
Resistors marked with a "C" = 100K
 Don't forget the Tempco  resistor. The LEDs colour isn't imporant.

 Headers next. Install the heareds before you install pots and jacks



Time for the Jacks & pots

Time for the last 4 LEDS.


You can use this module as either a VCF or Quad Oscillator.

"To use as a VCF keep the Q pot at zero.
Patch in an audio signal and adjust the Coarse freq pot and Q pot to use as a filter.
Keep the switch on Hi, add CV as you like. Once sounding good, try tweaking the nonlin Q pot and see what you get. "

To use as a Quadrature Oscillator
"Keep the nonlin Q pot at zero then turn up the Q pot until the module starts to self-oscillate
(around 8-9).
Adjust the frequency with the freq pots.
When the switch is Hi the range is at audio rates, set the switch to Low for LFO rates.
When using the module as an oscillator, the nonlin Q pot can be used to adjust the amplitude of the output signals.
Don’t forget to play with the sync input; it is more like a freeze function."



Links:
+ NLC Build notes
+ NLC Blog
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You can find more NLC builds here.
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Sunday, 13 August 2017

Hugo Awards - Best Sci Fi Novels - 1980s

This is a list of the best novel award for the 1980's
The Hugos have been awarded since the 1950s.

The official Hugo Awards website is:
http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/

My personal favourites from this decade are: Ender’s Game & Speaker for the Dead
Neuromancer by William Gibson,  Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh
+The golden Torc by Julian May (1982) ... didn't win any award, but a personal fave.
Consider Phlebas, by Iain Banks (1987), The player of Games by Iain M. Banks (1988).


1980
The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke [Gollancz, 1979; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979]
***
PublisherVictor Gollancz (UK)
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (US)
Publication date
1979
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages256
ISBN0-575-02520-4

First UK edition, precedes the U.S. first edition.







1981
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge [Dial Press, 1980]

Publisher    Dial Press (USA)
Publication date
    1980
Media type    Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages    471
Award    Hugo Award for Best Novel,
Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (all 1981)
ISBN    0-8037-7739-6

***








1982

Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh [DAW, 1981]
Published    1981 (DAW Books)
Media type    Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Hardback has 439 pages
I understand that the Book club edition (SFCB - Science Fiction Book Club) was the first edition in hardcover.
L10 gutter code page 438 

Award    Hugo Award for Best Novel
ISBN    84-7002-376-4

This is the first book in the  Union-Alliance novels
It's part of the space opera covering the rebellion between Earth and its far-flung colonies 

***

 



The Paperback first edition has 420 pages
This peceded the Science Fiction Book Club edition. Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4, *4-103. Cover art by David Mattingly.

Award    Hugo Award for Best Novel
ISBN    84-7002-376-4
***









1983

Foundation’s Edge by Isaac Asimov [Doubleday, 1982]

Published    1982 (Doubleday)
Media type    Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages    367
Awards    Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1983)
ISBN    0-385-17725-9











1984

Startide Rising by David Brin [Bantam, 1983]


Publisher    Bantam Books
Publication date
    1983
Media type    Print (Paperback & Hardback)
Pages    462 (first edition, paperback)
Award    Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1984)
ISBN    0-553-23495-1 (first edition, paperback)
This is the second of 6 books in the "Uplift War Series".

The six books are:
 Sundiver
Startide Rising
The Uplift War
Brightness Reef
Infinity's Shore
Heaven's Reach

1985

Neuromancer by William Gibson [Ace, 1984]

Publisher    Ace
Publication date
    July 1, 1984
Media type    Print (paperback and hardback)
Pages    271
ISBN    0-441-56956-0











1986
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card [Tor, 1985]

Publisher    Tor Books
Publication date
    15 January 1985
Media type    Print (Hardcover, Paperback & Ebook)
Pages    324
ISBN    0-312-93208-1



Ender's Game was recognized as "best novel" by the 1985 Nebula Award and the 1986 Hugo Award

 There are four sequels—Speaker for the Dead (1986), Xenocide (1991), Children of the Mind (1996), and Ender in Exile (2008)




The book originated as a short story of the same name, published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact.

***
















1987
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card [Tor, 1986]

This is an indirect sequel to the novel Ender's Game.
Like Ender's Game, the book won the Nebula Award in 1986 and the Hugo Award in 1987.

Publisher    Tor Books
Publication date
    March 1986
Pages    415
Award    Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1987)
ISBN    0-312-93738-5







1988

The Uplift War by David Brin [Phantasia, 1987; Bantam Spectra, 1987]

Publisher    Bantam Spectra
Publication date
    1987
Media type    Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages    506
Award    Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1988)
ISBN    0-932096-44-1

nominated as the best novel for the 1987 Nebula Award and won the 1988 Hugo and Locus Awards.

 

 

 

This is the third of 6 books in the "Uplift War Series".

The six books are:
 Sundiver
Startide Rising
The Uplift War
Brightness Reef
Infinity's Shore
Heaven's Reach
 

1989

Cyteen by C. J. Cherryh [Warner, 1988]

Publisher    Warner Books
Publication date
    May 1988
Pages    680 (Hardback)
Awards    Hugo Award for Best Novel (1989)
Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1989)
ISBN    0-446-51428-4
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Sci Fi Links
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1950's
+ Hugo Awards Best sci fi novels of the 1960's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1970's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi Novels of the 1980's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1990's
+ Hugo awards Best sci fi novel of the 2000's (2000 - 2009)
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels for the decade 2010-2019
+ Foundation - Isaac Asimov's
+ Dune - The Chronological order of the novels
+ Dune Universe Timeline
+ I, Robot - Isaac Asimov - novels & Magazines
+ Star Wars 
+ vorkoisgan saga reading order - Lois McMaster Bujold


--------------------------------------------

sci Fi Index

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Thursday, 10 August 2017

Roland TR - 727

Some pics of the modded 727.

This is the sister of the Roland 707. Its sounds are completely different.
This came out in 1985. That display lets you see exactly what you are doing.

You wont find your expected Kicks and claps here.
Its very unusual sounds are a welcome addition to the standard ones you find on drum machines these days.Great for tribal, Indian & Latin beats. There are 15 digital, sample based (12 bit) sounds.
Though I don't think it has the punch of the TR-626 or 505 which have (almost?) all the same sounds (I think it has the sounds of the 707 & 727). With the 626 you can adjust the pitch of each individual sound.

I love the built in mixer which allows you to adjust the volume of each sound. And the matrix sequencer display makes programming it a breeze. 64 patterns.

 This version has some yummy mods. The standard effects are Shuffle & Flam.
With lots of efx this machine can do wonders. You would be surprised how a little reverb or distortion completely changes the sound of this machine.

The layout is the same as the 707.

Aphex Twin, Freddy Fresh, and Luke Vibert have used the TR-727.
Though the PCM wave samples are all digital, the envelope and VCA is analog.
This is something that the new TR-8 doesn't have. The TR-8 uses "Roland's analog circuit behavior technology"

There are individual outputs for each sound and there is full midi (in/out) & Dinsync implementation so you can use your old TB 303 and modern Midi drums with this. Even if you didn't care for the sounds its so useful just for the DYN-Sync to Midi converter capability.


As mentioned earlier, my 727 is modified.

Its a unique example of circuit bending using banana cables.
A post shared by jono (@dj_jondent) on
It produces unusual sounds.
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For more info on the history of Roland Drum Machines click here